GOLD AND THE SEA

Every summer the same small hesitation happens at the water's edge. You are about to walk into the sea, and you stop to wonder whether the gold should come off first. It is a fair question, and the honest answer is better than the myth. Yes, you can wear golden jewellery in the sea. It just depends on which gold, and on knowing the difference before you buy.

So here is the truth about golden jewellery and salt water, without the sales gloss, because trusting your jewellery in the sea is the whole point of owning it.

Can you wear golden jewellery in the sea? The short answer

If a piece is made to be waterproof, it stays on, in the sea, the pool and the shower, and you never think about it. If a piece is gold-plated, it can go in the water too, but it lasts far longer with thirty seconds of care afterwards. Nothing here means leaving your jewellery in the hotel safe all holiday. It means matching the piece to the day.

Does saltwater damage gold?

Solid gold does not rust or tarnish, so the metal itself is unbothered by the sea. What salt water and chlorine reach for is everything around it: the plating on a plated piece, and over years the settings that hold stones. Sunscreen and body oils dull shine faster than the sea does. None of this is dramatic, and none of it happens in one swim. It is simply the reason care exists.

Solid gold, plated, or waterproof

Three categories, and it is worth knowing which you are wearing. Solid gold is inert and swims happily. Gold-plated pieces, a base metal under a fine layer of gold, are beautiful and accessible and simply want rinsing after salt or chlorine. Waterproof pieces, made from stainless steel with a bonded gold finish, are built for exactly this life and shrug off water, sweat and sun, which is why stainless steel jewellery is the safest answer for a summer spent wet. When you shop with us, our Waterproof collection is labelled for precisely this reason.

The pieces we make to live in water

If your summer is spent mostly wet, buy for it. Styles like the Dakota Waterproof Necklace, the Double Herringbone, and hoops like the Carrie or Chunky are made to stay on from the first swim to the last. They are the pieces you stop noticing, which is the highest compliment a summer chain can earn.

How to clean jewellery after the beach

For plated pieces, this is the whole ritual, and it answers the question of whether you can shower with golden jewellery too. After the sea or the pool, rinse them under fresh water, pat them dry with a soft cloth, and store them somewhere dry rather than tossed damp into a bag. Put jewellery on after sunscreen and perfume, not before. Do that and a plated piece keeps its shine for years, which is what turns a holiday buy into a piece you actually keep.

So, can you?

Yes. Wear the golden pieces in the sea. Choose waterproof for the pieces that never leave your skin, treat plated pieces to a quick rinse, and let solid gold do as it pleases. Jewellery is meant to be lived in, and a summer is a good place to start. To see how it comes together on the day, read Gold, the Riviera Way and From Beach to Dinner.